Failed in the FA Cup
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This article appeared on Transfermarkt in its first version at 10:35 a.m. and was subsequently supplemented with an update (after the first paragraph).
Manchester United will most likely announce shortly who will take over from sacked coach Rúben Amorim on an interim basis until the end of the season and the favorite for the job is former captain Michael Carrick. The Red Devils are expected to make a decision in the next 48 hours. Several media outlets unanimously report that the 44-year-old recently had positive discussions with those responsible. Carrick apparently prevailed over his former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had to leave Besiktas in August and was also negotiating with his long-standing club.
Update 5:24 p.m.: On Monday evening there were growing signs that Carrick would soon take over. It is said that the ex-professional has accepted all of the Red Devils’ contractual conditions. There is now nothing standing in the way of an agreement.
For the former midfielder, it will be the second “caretaker” job with the English record champions after 2021. At that time, Carrick took over from head coach Solskjaer and won two wins and a draw in three games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Villarreal. United then decided on the same model as they do now: Ralf Rangnick, signed a contract until the end of the season and then left. The preferred candidates for the head coach job in Manchester are Oliver Glasner, who will be tied to Crystal Palace until the end of the season, and national coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Carrick began his coaching career as José Mourinho’s assistant at United in 2018 and subsequently worked with Solskjaer. For the first time, he was primarily responsible for the second division club FC Middlesbrough between October 2022 and last summer. There he scored an average of 1.57 points in 136 games and only failed to gain promotion to the Premier League in the playoffs in 2023. Nobody has been in office at Boro for a long time; Aitor Karanka led 169 games between 2013 and 2017.
The job that Carrick had at Man United in 2021 is currently being carried out by another former midfielder from the Ferguson era: Darren Fletcher. The 41-year-old is actually a U18 coach, but stepped in at the beginning of the year when Amorim had to leave after poor results and criticism of the transfer policy. A turnaround was not possible under the Scot: In the league there was a 2-2 draw with newly promoted Burnley and in the FA Cup on Sunday the team had to give up in the third round in front of their home crowd against Brighton & Hove Albion with coach Fabian Hürzeler (1-2). However, it is apparently expected that Fletcher will be part of the coaching staff until the end of the season.
